This blog will post every workout I do as I prepare to compete at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. I will be 38 years old when I swim the 100 breaststroke at the Trials in Omaha, so my journey to this meet will be unlike that of just about all the other competitors attending Trials.

I liked doing lots of fast swimming from the blocks today, but I felt like my reaction time was very slow. I have no gauge of whether it was or not, but to me, it felt like it took an eternity for me to enter the water. Each time I did a start, I tried my best to react quickly, but it wasn't happening.

Also, I wasn't feeling much of a snap in my strokes today. I was going fast (at least as fast as I wanted to on each set), but getting my arms through on the 25s breast took lots of effort. I know everything can't feel effortless and simple every day, but today was somewhere in the middle.
Luckily, I started my explosive speed phase today with JR Rosania. Almost all of the exercises were different, with much fewer repetitions and a focus on quickness of motion. Today's exercises were difficult, but my muscles were exhausted in a neurological way, not in a fatigue way. I was getting my brain and my nervous system to mesh, and it wasn't easy all the time! On one exercise, I threw a 10-pound ball down to the ground and had to catch it quickly as it bounced back up. I stumble through that a few times, as my arms often didn't move to catch the ball quickly enough.

Though many of the exercises were new -- or readjusted for this phase -- sadly, my two least favorite exercises are still around: hip extension and leg extension! And worst of all, they were the last exercises of the session. That was not the way I wanted to end the workout, but I accepted it with a sigh and did them anyway.

About Me

I am a lifelong swimmer, following the black line on the bottom of the pool since I was four years old. This sport has taken me around the world as an elite swimmer and Masters swimmer.
I work at Swimming World Magazine in numerous capacities, covering swimming at all levels.
I am also the author of "Odd Man Out: An Autobiography," which chronicles my journey through this sport.